Reading Aloud to Teens, Part Two
Last week I set forth some reasons why older children (ages 12-18) have not outgrown the benefits of reading aloud. If you’re convinced about the why’s, you may be wondering about the how’s. Here are a few ideas along that line: Start early. If you’ve read to your kids as preschoolers, and after, they’ll be…
Read MoreBook Bits is Back! (2/5/16)
It’s high time we revived Book Bits: a random collection of interesting book-related links and information found around the web. Enjoy! Beatrix Potter has a new book coming out! Now you can ask the advice of a “book concierge” like you might a hotel concierge. Rumor has it that a new Little House movie is in…
Read MoreReading Aloud to Teens, Part One
The last time I talked to my daughter on the phone, she said, “Guess what Adriel is doing now.” That’s my nine-year-old granddaughter, and of course I always want to know what she’s doing now. Since they live 800 miles away, I don’t get to see them very much, but it so happened that the…
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5 Fun Fairy Tale Reads for February
Love is in the air! Or is it? Despite the myriad of hearts, chocolates, and flowers festooning every available merchandising spot, not everyone wants to read a love story this time of year. But what about a romance? Merriam-Webster defines “romance” as: “a prose narrative treating imaginary characters involved in events remote in time or place and…
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Five Family Read Alouds
Long winter nights and the occasional snow day make for excellent read-aloud weather. Here are five favorites that can be enjoyed by the whole family.
Read MoreFive Favorite Snow Stories
Snowbound? Wishing you were? Here are some titles to enjoy with a cup of hot chocolate. Supertruck by Stephen Savage. Roaring Brook, 2015. 32 pages. A humble garbage truck has a secret identity which saves the day and all the snowbound city trucks in this Caldecott honor winning title. If you have a child who…
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The Nutcracker: This is That Time of Year
The Nutcracker ballet is part of many Americans’ yearly cultural celebration of Christmas. The music plays everywhere, and even young children often recognize the strains of the “Waltz of the Flowers” or the “Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy.” If this rings true for your household, check out one of the books below to further your…
Read MoreReading with Discernment: YA Literature
One of the high school classes I teach is devoted to helping students become discerning readers. Modern young adult fiction can be a minefield of conflicting worldviews, confusing messages, and the subtle (or not so subtle) push for readers to blindly accept the stories they read with little or no hesitation. We spend a good…
Read MoreBetrayed by Books: Always Read with Discernment!
I’m all for diversity in books–after all, God’s creation is full of so many different kinds of people and they are all created in His image. We should be reading about and seeing people of all shapes, sizes, and colors in books. There are plenty of diverse family situations, too; families don’t come in neat little packages…
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Have an Awesome Thanksgiving
In honor of this week’s holiday, a book review post from a few years back: *Sarah Gives Thanks: How Thanksgiving Became a National Holiday, by Mike Allegra, illustrated by David Gardner. Whitman, 2012, 32 pages. Age-interest level: 4-up As our story opens, Sarah Hale is gathered with her five children around the Thanksgiving table. No…
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